''The Mad Phoenix'' ( zh, 南海十三郎) is a 1997 film written by Raymond To Kwok-Wai, based on a drama of the same title, which depicts the life of the legend Cantonese Opera playwright Kong Yu-Kau. The film won the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Screenplay in 1998.

Plot

A story teller narrates the life of the legend Cantonese opera playwright, Kong Yu-Kau (played by

Tse Kwan-ho Tse Kwan-ho (born 23 March 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, professionally also known as Gardner Tse. Originally a nurse, Tse Kwan-ho rose to prominence in the stage play ''The Mad Phoenix'' (), this was later remade into a feature film of the sam ...

). Kong was born in 1909 as the 13th son of a Chinese government official. He was talented and was at the top of classes at a

Medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

. At a charity ball he was attracted by a girl named Lily. To pursue her love, he gave up his promising career and followed her to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. But Lily had no feeling towards him and left him stranded in streets for two years. When Kong finally returned to his home town, he was unable to continue his medical studies so he took up teaching. In his free time he went to the Cantonese Operas especially those performed by one of the leading opera singers of the time, Sit Gok-Seen. He started writing songs and plays and proposed them to Sit. His talent was soon being recognized and Sit invited him to join his opera company as playwright. He became famous and arrogant and gave himself a pen name: Mr. Thirteen. He was extremely difficult to work with and no one was willing to serve him until

Tang Ti-sheng Tang Ti-sheng () (18 June 1917 – 15 September 1959), born Tang Kang-nien (), was a Cantonese opera playwright, scriptwriter, and film director. His contributions to Cantonese opera significantly influenced Hong Kong's reform and development of ...

() came and worked as a copyist and assistant to him. They became good friends for many years. When

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

fell to the hands of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the 1930s, Kong went to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and continue to write anti-Japanese scripts. After the war against Japan ended, he returned to

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, but his outspoken and eccentric manner made numerous enemies. Thus, no one asked him to write a script; and no one watched or played the anti-Japanese written by him. The Public taste had changed, but he was unwilling to comprise. In the 1950s he went back to

and wandered in the streets. As he grew older, he became insane and was admitted to a mental hospital. He died in 1984 at the age of 74.

Cast

as Kiang Yu-Kou / Nam Hoi Sap-Sam Long * Chu Wai-Lim Chu as Young Juzaburo * Poon Chan-Leung as Tong Dik Sang * So Yuk Wah as Mui Sin *

Elaine Ng Elaine Ng Yi-lei (born 23 September 1972), sometimes credited as Elaine Wu, is a Hong Kong actress. She was the winner of Miss Asia in 1990. She announced that she was pregnant in 1999, and disclosed the affair with Jackie Chan after public spec ...

as Lily * Leung Hon-Wai as Sit Gok-Seen

References

External links

HKMBD: Movie Reviews
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Phoenix, The 1997 films 1990s biographical drama films Hong Kong biographical drama films Films about Cantonese opera 1997 drama films Films directed by Clifton Ko 1990s Hong Kong films